In this section, Dewey Dell is reflecting on how Peabody could give her an abortion if he knew she was pregnant. Also, it shows the bizarre and abnormal thinking of Dewey Dell and most all of the characters in the novel in general.
Diamonds are the most precious of jewels,
They must be mined with great care and many tools.
When first taken out of the Earth
Diamonds resemble, essentially, dirt.
Only when they are cut and cleaned,
Is their marvelous beauty truly gleaned.
Now, there is another type of Jewel.
And just like a diamond,
He is not truly what he seems at first glance.
To an outsider, he seems violent and ill-natured.
However, travel inside his thoughts, his mind,
And you will see his ideas can be of a different kind.
Extended Response: Vardaman pg. 84 There is no denying it. My mother is most certainly a fish. The fish I caught the other day was alive before it was not, and then it was not alive, it was dead, but not alive, because it cannot be alive when it is not alive, so it is dead. My mother was alive before she was not, and before, she was not dead, but now, she is not alive anymore, because she used to be only before, and now she is dead becaus she is not alive. If my mother was alive before she was not, and so was the fish, then...... My mother and the fish were both alive, then they were not. They both were alive, they both are dead. They both were not dead, and both are not alive. My mother is a fish. My mother is a fish. MY MOTHER IS A FISH!!!!!!!
Diary Entry Response: Darl to Dewey Dell pg. 26-27 Hello Diary,
How goes it this fine day? Today I saw my sister, Dewey Dell. She was picking cotton with Lafe. But I know what really happened. I looked at Dewey Dell, and I saw it in her eyes. She knew I knew what she knew. She looked into my eyes and saw mother's death. I had questions. She asked why I was there. I told her mother was going to die. She asked when. I know what she did in the cotton field.
Diary Entry Response: Darl to Vardamanpg. 101 Dear Diary,
Vardaman's mother is a fish. Jewel's mother is a horse. We are all brothers. How can this be? I tell them I have no mother. My mother was but no longer is. She is was and was is. Vardaman kept asking me question after question after question. I let him think what he he wants. In this life it is better to accept our own ideas. Contradiction and other people's input complicates and confuses things. And who wants that? I, for one, do not.
I am watching my brothers from the opposite shore,
Watching, watching doing no more.
Cash is driving, he loses hold of the coffin,
I yell for Darl to jump in,
And catch the thing before it is ruined.
I yelled and yelled and yelled and yelled,
And everyone was running about pell-mell.
I ran past Tull, who jumps in the river,
Trying to help Darl before the coffin drifts thither.
I see Darl struggling underwater,
I wondered all the while if he had caught her.
He resurfaces, empty-handed.
And I keep running along the bank,
Farther, farther, farther........
Extended Response: Addie pg. 169-176 My children are not mine. I abhor children. Mine and the others I have seen. I see myself, in dreams, in nightmares. I'm killing Anse. His blood is all over the ground, walls. I am killing Cash, Darl. Whitfield comes, and then we kill Jewel. Dewey Dell does not exist, so I could not kill her. Vardaman, little Vardaman, I am killing him too. I gave Anse three boys, the girl is void, and Jewel is to Whitfield. When I had Cash, then Darl, it continued. It never ended. Anse continuously told me it was not over, I was never done. Cash was first, Darl was a burden, Jewel was never Anse's, Dewy Dell is nonexistant, and Vardaman made up for my sin. My children, my children. Anse is dead.
Addie's Reaction: Vardaman pg. 214-217 I always knew something would be wrong with Darl. He was always strange. What was the reason for burning the barn? He deserves all the punishment that he will get. And why did they move my coffin from the apple tree to the barn. I liked being out under the sky. What is this silly, childish notion that I am speaking to them? I'm DEAD for god's sake! My children are so stupid. And little Vardaman, believing what Darl said. Vardaman always was a little slow, even for a little boy. Now, back to the barn. Darl is, quite frankly, wrong in the head. He goes and burns a barn? What kind of craziness is this? I did not much care for Darl before, now he has crossed the line. He is by far the worst of my children. I hope they jail him or something. Cash, on the other hand, is going through hard times. To break his leg and then get it covered with cement? Anse Bundren, my whole family, they're all idiots. Vardaman, why did you tell Dewey Dell about Darl? She does not even exist. Who knows what she would do with that information. I have just lost the inkling of respect that I had for my family.
Blabberize: Vardaman Jewl is most certainly a brave kid. To risk his life in order to save the horses and his dead mother and her coffin, is, quite frankly, crazy. Then again, it is Jewel. He really has a fascination for equines. I don't think any sane person would run inside a burning building to save a couple of horses and donkeys. He might be crazy but you can't deny he's got courage. Either that, or he could be insane. And what a way to get he coffin out. He rolled it out of the burning barn. Darl, meanwhile, just stood and watched. Well, I suppose that means he's got some common sense. Anyway, I really don't know what to think of Jewel.
In this section, Dewey Dell is reflecting on how Peabody could give her an abortion if he knew she was pregnant. Also, it shows the bizarre and abnormal thinking of Dewey Dell and most all of the characters in the novel in general.
http://apimages.ap.org
Jewel (pg. 14-15)
Diamonds are the most precious of jewels,
They must be mined with great care and many tools.
When first taken out of the Earth
Diamonds resemble, essentially, dirt.
Only when they are cut and cleaned,
Is their marvelous beauty truly gleaned.
Now, there is another type of Jewel.
And just like a diamond,
He is not truly what he seems at first glance.
To an outsider, he seems violent and ill-natured.
However, travel inside his thoughts, his mind,
And you will see his ideas can be of a different kind.
http://apimages.ap.org
Extended Response: Vardaman pg. 84
There is no denying it. My mother is most certainly a fish. The fish I caught the other day was alive before it was not, and then it was not alive, it was dead, but not alive, because it cannot be alive when it is not alive, so it is dead. My mother was alive before she was not, and before, she was not dead, but now, she is not alive anymore, because she used to be only before, and now she is dead becaus she is not alive. If my mother was alive before she was not, and so was the fish, then...... My mother and the fish were both alive, then they were not. They both were alive, they both are dead. They both were not dead, and both are not alive. My mother is a fish. My mother is a fish. MY MOTHER IS A FISH!!!!!!!
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Diary Entry Response: Darl to Dewey Dell pg. 26-27
Hello Diary,
How goes it this fine day? Today I saw my sister, Dewey Dell. She was picking cotton with Lafe. But I know what really happened. I looked at Dewey Dell, and I saw it in her eyes. She knew I knew what she knew. She looked into my eyes and saw mother's death. I had questions. She asked why I was there. I told her mother was going to die. She asked when. I know what she did in the cotton field.
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Diary Entry Response: Darl to Vardaman pg. 101
Dear Diary,
Vardaman's mother is a fish. Jewel's mother is a horse. We are all brothers. How can this be? I tell them I have no mother. My mother was but no longer is. She is was and was is. Vardaman kept asking me question after question after question. I let him think what he he wants. In this life it is better to accept our own ideas. Contradiction and other people's input complicates and confuses things. And who wants that? I, for one, do not.
http://apimages.ap.org
On the River (Vardaman: pg. 150-151)
I am watching my brothers from the opposite shore,
Watching, watching doing no more.
Cash is driving, he loses hold of the coffin,
I yell for Darl to jump in,
And catch the thing before it is ruined.
I yelled and yelled and yelled and yelled,
And everyone was running about pell-mell.
I ran past Tull, who jumps in the river,
Trying to help Darl before the coffin drifts thither.
I see Darl struggling underwater,
I wondered all the while if he had caught her.
He resurfaces, empty-handed.
And I keep running along the bank,
Farther, farther, farther........
http://apimages.ap.org
Extended Response: Addie pg. 169-176
My children are not mine. I abhor children. Mine and the others I have seen. I see myself, in dreams, in nightmares. I'm killing Anse. His blood is all over the ground, walls. I am killing Cash, Darl. Whitfield comes, and then we kill Jewel. Dewey Dell does not exist, so I could not kill her. Vardaman, little Vardaman, I am killing him too. I gave Anse three boys, the girl is void, and Jewel is to Whitfield. When I had Cash, then Darl, it continued. It never ended. Anse continuously told me it was not over, I was never done. Cash was first, Darl was a burden, Jewel was never Anse's, Dewy Dell is nonexistant, and Vardaman made up for my sin. My children, my children. Anse is dead.
http://apimages.ap.org
Addie's Reaction: Vardaman pg. 214-217
I always knew something would be wrong with Darl. He was always strange. What was the reason for burning the barn? He deserves all the punishment that he will get. And why did they move my coffin from the apple tree to the barn. I liked being out under the sky. What is this silly, childish notion that I am speaking to them? I'm DEAD for god's sake! My children are so stupid. And little Vardaman, believing what Darl said. Vardaman always was a little slow, even for a little boy. Now, back to the barn. Darl is, quite frankly, wrong in the head. He goes and burns a barn? What kind of craziness is this? I did not much care for Darl before, now he has crossed the line. He is by far the worst of my children. I hope they jail him or something. Cash, on the other hand, is going through hard times. To break his leg and then get it covered with cement? Anse Bundren, my whole family, they're all idiots. Vardaman, why did you tell Dewey Dell about Darl? She does not even exist. Who knows what she would do with that information. I have just lost the inkling of respect that I had for my family.
Newspaper Article: Moseley
file:///Users/12sirdeshpandeg/Desktop/Sirdeshpandeg_article.pdf
Blabberize: Vardaman
Jewl is most certainly a brave kid. To risk his life in order to save the horses and his dead mother and her coffin, is, quite frankly, crazy. Then again, it is Jewel. He really has a fascination for equines. I don't think any sane person would run inside a burning building to save a couple of horses and donkeys. He might be crazy but you can't deny he's got courage. Either that, or he could be insane. And what a way to get he coffin out. He rolled it out of the burning barn. Darl, meanwhile, just stood and watched. Well, I suppose that means he's got some common sense. Anyway, I really don't know what to think of Jewel.